The US Treasury Department has sanctioned North Korean Crypto Assets Money Laundering activities

According to the TechFlow news on December 18th, Cointelegraph reported that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Chinese citizens, Lu Huaying and Zhang Jian, and the UAE-based Green ALPINE Trading company for allegedly being involved in Cryptocurrency conversion and Money Laundering activities, with the funds subsequently transferred to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The statement said,“As North Korea continues to use elaborate criminal schemes to fund its large-scale weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs – including through the use of digital assets – the Treasury Department will continue to focus on disrupting those networks that facilitate the flow of funds to the North Korean regime.”

Lu and Zhang are residents of the United Arab Emirates. It is alleged that Lu converted cryptocurrency into fiat currency and used it to obtain goods and services for shipment to North Korea or its agents. The Ministry of Finance stated that he was very active from early 2022 to September 2023.